Crimson Petals
by x'femmefatale
Summary: [UNDERGO] Musashi University is one of the most prestigious schools that is near impossible to enter. Wakahisa Minori, or Rin, is awarded a scholarship to the famed school where she meets Taisho Sesshomaru, mysterious and beautiful. With a secret of her own to keep, what will Rin do when Musashi University's darkest secrets are unveiled and emotions run wild?


**A|N:** Voilà ~ The inaugural chapter of my new fanfiction! I do hope you all will like what you read & please review - I do accept flames and criticism! :3 Lemme' know what ya'll think so that I can fix any mistakes and whatnot. I would also like to add a quick sidenote that this IS an AU story and so the characters might not be as they would in the original series. However! I shall try and connect as much as possible to their true personalities from the series. But don't complain about that, okay? Now. On to the story! :D

**Chapter I: Silent Savior**

Morning arrived much too quickly for her liking, a complete opposite perspective from her usual "morning bird" self. Sullenly, she forced herself to get out of bed and into her personal bathroom, her gait altered by a slight limp from her right leg. The refreshing splash of cold water upon her face gave the final shove into full consciousness. After patting her face dry with a hand towel, she returned back into her adjoining bedroom and hobbled over to the full-body mirror to inspect the damage from yesterday. Her face hadn't been bruised this time, thank Kami! However, dark purple marks marred the skin on her left forearm that stung from the faintest of touches and multiple cuts defaced the palms of her hands. Lifting her nightshirt up revealed a large, deep purple bruise covering a good section of her side. And, without even looking, she knew she would find another bruise in the shape of a foot imprinted in the middle of her back. _Looks like it's another long-sleeved shirt today_, she thought to herself as she lowered her nightshirt back down.

Her solemn mood, however, was instantly brought up to a bubble of excitement when she realized what today was: her first day at Musashi University! Musashi University is one of the most prestigious universities known to all high school graduates, and to most, it was just a fairytale– everybody wanted it, but hardly anybody achieved it. So you can only imagine her surprise when she was awarded with a full scholarship ride paying for both tuition and books! Apparently the esteemed university had recognized her skills in art (particularly her paintings). And no matter how surreal this seemed, she was never one to ponder over wonderful opportunities bestowed upon her!

She went about her daily routine of getting ready, pep in her step. Her chosen attire consisted of a simple peach-pink, long-sleeved shirt with buttons lining the side of both wrists along with a simple pair of blue jeans. Wanting to make a good first impression, she made the brave decision to wear a nice pair of small wedges that matched the color of her shirt. However, just to be on the safe side, she packed her favorite pair of old, rundown, black Converses in her light brown shoulder bag. Her long, ebony hair was left down; the ends having naturally curled. The final touch was the soft pink gloss she lightly smoothed across her lips and the look was complete with thirty minutes to spare! By this time, her limp was hardly noticeable and the throbbing pain from her bruises subsided to a dull ache that was easily pushed aside. She had also covered some of the cuts on her hand with two Band-Aids on her left hand and three on her right.

After packing her sketch book and pencils in her bag, she quietly made her way downstairs and was greeted by the aftermath from last night. Two alcohol bottles (one half-full) stood erect on the floor near the bottom of the staircase and the linoleum floor that lead into the kitchen was littered with shattered glass. Were she to look carefully, she would have been able to see the blotches and tiny smears of old blood nearby the shattered glass… Unable to leave the house in such condition, she set her bag down and cleaned the disaster – the glass shards, the abandoned liquor bottles, and beer bottles strewn across the countertops. She had only ten minutes left by the time she was finished.

She had just been about to turn and walk out the door when her chocolate brown orbs caught sight of a dark mass lying face-down in the middle of the living room floor. Fear quickly consumed her but, before she knew it, she was approaching him slowly like prey would around a slumbering predator. Hardly breathing, she tiptoed silently to pick up the throw blanket from across the coach and ever so softly lowered it over the unconscious man. She had also taken the liberty to fill and set a glass of water beside him for when he wakes up. She gave the man one last look of sadness before turning away and heading out the door.

"Bye, father…" She whispered softly before closing the door as quietly as she could.

/ *** \\

The two mile walk took longer than she had expected and when she arrived at Musashi University, a bell chime reverberated through the air to initiate class. Her steps drew to a slow halt and her chocolate eyes widened. The school was **enormous**! To describe the school itself would take far too many words of detail and she could hardly estimate the size of the campus alone! Students, donned in the school uniform, walked to and fro to get to their classes. Every single being that she could see were all beautiful – perfect complexions, lustrous hair of all colors, bodies to be envied… Admiration sparkled in her eyes. She had just been about to proceed forward when a voice intervened.

"Wakahisa Minori?"

Blinking curiously, she turned her head to the side to see a female who she guessed had to be around three years older than herself. The girl's hair was long and dark, reaching mid-back in natural waves, and her eyes were the color of molten chocolate (much like her own) that held a depth of kindness and warmth. She was dressed in the school uniform as well: a white, button-down, collared, long-sleeved shirt with cuffs on the sleeves. A singular black line rimmed the edge of the collar and the cuffs, and a black bolo tie was tied loosely around the neck with a golden circle clip. The school insignia was imprinted on the top right sleeve in black. The miniskirt was black and red plaid and pleated. On the girl, it reached mid-thigh whilst her calves were covered by knee-high white socks with a black line rimming the top. Shiny black penny loafers completed the ensemble. Turning her body to face the older female, a smile stretched her lips as she nodded.

"Hai! You can call me Rin though," she replied in a friendly tone.

A warm smile spread across the other girl's lips and Rin instantly knew that she and her were going to be close friends.

"It's nice to meet you, Rin. I'm Higurashi Kagome! I'm here to help you around today."

Rin's smile widened a little more before she nodded her head in confirmation.

"I actually have your class schedule right here…" Kagome spoke as she rustled through her black shoulder bag, bearing the school insignia in gold right in the middle. "Um… somewhere in here… Oh! Here it is!" Kagome pulled a single crisp sheet of paper and handed it over to Rin's hands. She paused upon noticing the Band-Aids and concern sparked through her brown hues. "Did you fall?"

Rin nodded her head, having prepared a story much earlier in the morning. "Hai, I tripped walking up the steps to my house but I'm okay," she reassured the other.

The concern in Kagome's eyes had yet to disperse, "Are you sure? Did you trip this morning?"

Rin shook her head, "No, yesterday afternoon."

The tension in Kagome's shoulders seemed to relax upon her simple statement and she nodded her head.

"Better be careful. There's a lot of steps around campus," Kagome teased and another warm smile lit the older female's face.

Rin giggled and nodded her head, "Hai! I will be!"

/ *** \\

Kagome escorted Rin around campus, giving her a full tour and even going so far as to direct her to each of Rin's classes so that she would know where they were and not get lost.

"Behind the campus is the Abunai Forest. It's a pretty dangerous place so it'd be best if you stay as far away from it as possible… Rin? Are you listening to me?" Kagome's voice took upon a note of irritation, but Rin's attention was focused elsewhere.

"Who is that?" Rin asked from her daze, eyes wide.

Kagome's annoyance dissolved into curiosity as she followed Rin's gaze.

Standing a few meters away from the two girls stood a boy donned in the boy's uniform: white long-sleeved, button-down top with a standing collar rimmed by a single black line. The circular gold buttons seemed to match the gold clip on the female's bolo tie. The straight-leg pants were white and a black belt was paired with it. The school insignia, much like the female's uniforms, was imprinted in black on the top right sleeve. Sleek black penny loafers were worn also.

The boy had to be one of the most beautiful persons Rin had ever seen. His hair was longer than both Kagome's and her own combined and was the color of new snow. His eyes were the color of molten gold and he held himself like he knew how pretty he was and wanted everyone else to notice also. However, it was the pair of snow white dog ears at the top of his head that caught Rin's attention.

"That's Taisho Inuyasha," Kagome said. "He can be a real jerk sometimes but he's otherwise a big puppy dog."

Rin's chocolate orbs remained glued to Inuyasha's ears. "Are his ears real?" She asked.

Kagome couldn't help the large smile that spread across her features at this. "Oh yes! They're really soft too!"

Rin saw Inuyasha's ears twitch and a flash of annoyance cross his face, almost as if he heard Kagome. Gaze glued to Inuyasha's ears, Rin had such a strong urge to touch them.

"Hey!" Inuyasha barked out, causing Rin to jump in surprise. "Are ya just going to stare at me all day!? Don't ya got anything better to do?!"

Rin's eyes widened slightly at the confrontation, a little embarrassed that she had been caught in the act of ogling his ears. She quickly diverted her gaze down to the floor coyly. It was Kagome who jumped to her rescue.

"Inuyasha! Don't be so rude! She's new!" She retorted.

"Yeah, I see that! Otherwise she wouldn't be just standing there staring like a baka!" Inuyasha motioned to Rin with his hand and she noticed the sharp, elongated fingernails that he had – they almost resembled claws, come to think of it…

Glancing over to Kagome, Rin was rather shocked to find a look of pure frustration over the older girl's face. She flinched away when Kagome stomped forward suddenly, already mentally preparing an argument against Inuyasha on Rin's behalf. The younger female just decided to leave the arguing duo alone, not wanting to get dragged into the fight herself.

So she retraced her steps towards the back of campus. Once she was behind the large building marked 7A, Rin leaned against the wall. Her ankle had started to begin hurting and her limp was becoming a little more apparent. Sitting down on the lush grass, Rin exchanged shoes with the Converses she had packed this morning and placed the heels into her bag. When she stood back to her feet, her ankle felt much better. Now she stood facing the entrance to a large forest. _Didn't Kagome say something about a forest behind campus?_ She questioned herself and attempted to think back to what Kagome had said, but she couldn't remember.

In the middle of her thinking, Rin suddenly saw a dark mass flash through the forest greenery. _What was that_? She though curiously and, before she knew it, her curiosity had driven her inside the forest in search of that black shadow. Inside the forest, everything appeared so different – as if the modern age hadn't taken over and Tokyo remained in the Feudal Era. A quick rustle from behind caused Rin to spin around, only to face emptiness. Anxiety began to settle in her chest when she suddenly felt that walking into the forest had been a mistake. Taking a glance about, she realized that she couldn't remember which direction was the exit. Choosing what she assumed to be the safest direction, she began walking when another rustle sounded to her left, much closer this time.

"H-Hello?" She called out hesitantly, receiving another rustle from her right in response.

The anxiety she was feeling had now morphed into fear. Rin quickened her walking pace, agitating her ankle in the process and her limp becoming more obvious. This time, the rustle sounded right next to her and startled Rin so badly that she tripped over her own feet. The rough collision with the ground shot pain through her hands and her ankle throbbed in agony. The dark mass flashed before her eyes and Rin squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the bad part that she felt was to come…

Silence.

Slowly opening her eyes, she was greeted with the most majestic and beautiful sight she's ever seen. Standing before her was a tall lean figure of a boy. His hair matched that of Inuyasha's with its silver sheen, but his was longer than Inuyasha's. His complexion was pale perfection, and his cheeks were marked by two magenta stripes across each cheek bone and a violet crescent moon positioned in the middle of his forehead. The contours of his face were all sharp: his nose, his ears, his jawline. His eyes were the same molten gold color as Inuyasha's, but his held more depth – as if a war raged within. Rin found herself staring at him openly, too lost in the golden gaze that bore down at her silently to feel shy.

"Are you hurt?" He spoke with a low voice, no emotion filtering from either his face or his tone.

Rin shook her head and stood, wincing when she put too much weight on her ankle. The boy merely stared at her, emotionless and with a face as cool as ice. Once standing at her full height, Rin shifted all her weight onto her opposite leg to preserve her injured one. The silver haired boy's eyes narrowed a small fraction. He turned.

"Come," he ordered.

Nodding her head, she moved to take a step to follow and a jolt of pain shot through her leg. Her lips parted in an inaudible gasp as she began to fall towards the hard floor once more. Right before impact however, two hands quickly caught her. Chocolate orbs rose to the boy's golden hues.

"You are injured," he spoke rather than questioned. She didn't reply.

Her eyes widened when she felt herself being lifted from the ground into strong arms that held her effortlessly. Rin raised her gaze up to the face of her holder, quickly finding herself enamored by his beauty. Not once did he glance down at her, but she felt as if he was aware she was openly staring.

It wasn't long before he had carried her out of the forest and back into civilization where they were immediately greeted by the worried face of Kagome and an irritated scowl from Inuyasha.

"Rin!" Kagome cried out, rushing forward to meet the two. "I told you not to go in there!"

Rin ducked her head. _So that was what Kagome had said about the forest…_ Rin felt herself being lowered down and so she maneuvered herself to stand on both feet, all weight upon her uninjured leg. Kagome instantly wrapped a steady hand around Rin's shoulders to help support the younger girl.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru," Kagome spoke to her savior, revealing his name at last.

No words were returned from her silent savior. Instead, his attention was solely focused on Rin.

"What is your name?" He asked in that low voice of his – one that could lull Rin right to sleep.

Rin responded back with silence, her voice having been lost from the earlier experience in the forest. Whenever Rin found herself to be in a frightening position or too scared, her voice is lost and she becomes mute for a short period of time. It was a habit she took upon when she was very young. When Rin didn't respond to his question, Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed.

"It's Rin," Kagome covered for the mute girl.

Sesshomaru's golden eyes flickered momentarily to Kagome before returning to Rin, regarding her silently. Without another word, her rescuer turned and walked off in the opposite direction.

"Tch. Bastard," Rin heard Inuyasha mutter, earning a quick look from Kagome.

As for Rin, her eyes watched the retreating back of her silent savior.

_Arigatou, Sesshomaru-sama_, she thought to him in silent reverence.


End file.
